Auspicious dreams in Jainism

Aspicious dreams as an ornamentation on cover of 19th-century manuscript
Sixteen Symbolic Dreams

Auspicious dreams are often described in texts of Jainism which forecast the virtue of child. Their number varies according to different traditions and they described frequently as fourteen or sixteen dreams.[1] They are seen by mothers of the prominent figures in Jainism including Tirthankaras, on the conception of their soul in womb. They are interpreted as describing virtues and kingship of future child. They are also found in various artistic media as an ornamentation.

Dreams

Their number and description differ according to major traditions of Jainism. According to Svetambara tradition, there are 14 dreams while according to Digambara tradition, there are 16 dreams. Most of them are same. They are described in detail as dreams of queen Trishala, mother of Mahavira, in some Jain texts.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Auspicious dreams
No.
Sve 		No.
Dig 		Image Dream Interpretation Notes
1 1
Airavata
 white elephant with four tusks / Airavata mother would give birth to a child with good character. The four tusk of elephant depicts the four components of Sangha: monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen. similar to the elephant of Indra
2 2
Vrishabha
 bull religious character and spirituality -
3 3
Sinha
 Lion power, strength and fearlessness -
4 4
Laxmi
 Shri or Laxmi wealth and prosperity Similar to goddess Laxmi in Hinduism
5 5
Phulmala
 pair of garlands popularity and respect -
6 6
Purnima Chandra
 full moon peace and help to others -
7 7
Surya
 sun supreme knowledge -
8 *
Dhvaja
 flag with lion pictured on it flying on golden stick leadership -
9 8
Purna Kalasha
 full jug / pair of full vases with lotuses perfect in virtues and would be full of compassion for all living beings. considered auspicious in Dharmic religions
10 10
Padma Sarovar
 lotus pond / celestial lake unattachment to worldly possessions -
11 11
Ratnakar
 ocean / rough ocean achievement of infinite perception and knowledge, spiritual liberation -
12 13
Dev Vimana
 celestial cheriot palace indicated that angels in heaven would respect, honor his spiritual teachings -
13 15
Ratnadhag
 heap of jewels virtues and wisdom -
14 16
Nirdhumra Agni
 smokeless fire reform and restore religious order. He would burn his karmas and attain salvation. -
Not included 9 Meenyugma pair of fishes handsomeness -
Not included 12 Sinhasana golden lion-footed throne high spiritual status. -
Not included 14 Mahal palace of the king of snakes prosperity -

These dreams features animals, objects and a goddess associated with positive virtues and kingship. They are generally considered positive symbols in Indian culture so they frequently appear in other Indian religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.[1]

Importance

Queen Trishala, Mahavira's mother has auspicious dreams. Folio 4 from Kalpasutra

In texts

These dreams are connected with the births of Tirthankaras and the other prominent people including chakravarti, Baladevas and Vāsudevas in Jainism. They are 63 in total and called Shalakapurusha. Their mothers see a certain number of dreams on conception of their soul in womb. They are described in the great detail in Kalpasutra.[1][7] 12th century Jain monk Hemchandracharya described and interpreted them in detail in Trishashthishalakapurush. Avashyak-niryukti, an early verse-commentary in Prakrit, explains relation of names of some Tirthankaras and these dreams.[1]

Foretelling as per Kalpasutra
Number of dreams What it foretells
14 dreams birth of a future Tirthankara or Chakravarti (universal monarch)
7 of the 14 dreams birth of a future Vāsudeva
4 of the 14 dreams birth of a future Baladeva
1 of the 14 dreams birth of a future Mandalika (king)

Festivals

On the fifth day of festival of Paryusana, Jain monks read or narrate the portion of the Kalpasutra dealing with birth of last Tirthankara Mahavira, to the Jain lay people. They are displayed to the people in the form of silver models and auctioned for temporary possession and display to other people for festive days.[1]

Other

These dreams are symbolised and found in artistic media like paintings in manuscripts and on its covers, books, ornamentation in stone carvings, invitation scrolls and temple furnitures.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Balbir, Nalini. "Article: Dreams". Institute of Jainology. jainpedia.org. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  2. ↑ Shah, Pravin. "Fourteen Auspicious Dreams of Mother Trishala". Jain Study Center of North Carolina. www.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  3. 1 2 Shah, Natubhai (1998). Jainism: the world of conquerors 2. Sussex Academic Press. p. 180. ISBN 9781898723318.
  4. ↑ Quinn, Edward (2009). Critical Companion to George Orwell Encyclopedia of World Religions Series. Infobase Publishing. p. 270. ISBN 9781438108735.
  5. ↑ Jyotindra Jain, Eberhard Fischer (1978). Jaina iconography. BRILL. pp. 4–6. ISBN 9789004052598.
  6. ↑ Pruthi, Raj (2004). Jainism And Indian Civilization:Culture and civilization series. Discovery Publishing House. pp. 62–66. ISBN 9788171417964.
  7. 1 2 "The Dreams of Queen Trishala". www.herenow4u.net. 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2013-04-19.

External links

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